And if your in the breeding business to make a living rest assured making a profit is the number #1 goal. I don't know anyone that has a business or a job where the main goal is not to make money. Unless I suppose someone else supports them then maybe so.

Generally, breeding well and establishing a reputation for producing good horses will make you more money.

Of course almost any breeding is for profit (there are exceptions to the rule like getting a baby from own mare and keep it for yourself and so on, but generally it's for money). In the end breeding is a business like any other. Nothing wrong with it.

Should the breeding be responsible? ABSOLUTELY. The breeder deals with LIVE creatures, and I think that type of business should require much, much higher level of knowledge and responsibility than say selling books. If something goes wrong (s)he can't just throw the horse in garbage (however some do right there by sending bunch of babies to the auction to get at least some bucks out of them). If someone crosses for color, or hairy legs, or "nice disposition" (look my mare never bucks!), or something else "cool" without putting a single thought in it or doing simple "home research" - it's just ridiculous. Unfortunately it happens all the time...

When's the last time you saw a Gypsy or Gypsy cross in the Grand Prix, or any kind of significant competition? Never. They're not that great.

I've got a gypsy and regardless of whether she's got a closet full of ribbons or not, I really think she's a useful, versatile, powerful, and beautiful animal, even great in my opinion. I don't think the gypsy horse as a breed deserves a bad reputation and I don't think it's fair to lump gypsy horses and gypsy crosses in one category.

I don't like seeing horses of any breed bred or crossed without consideration for the soundness, usefullness, and the future of the resulting animal. It's a big topic that spans many different breeds, but if we're talking specifically about the crosses with gypsies and fresians, then maybe those registries should take efforts to discourage or limit the crossing of their mares and studs to other breeds. It's plain to see that irresponsible breeding degrades the reputation of the breed, so it seems logical to make it a mission of the breed officials to keep the practice under control. I don't see an effective method of limiting the crosses with any smaller action, and a larger action might put an uncomfortable level of government interference in all horse-owners' lives.

It's all a lot to think about and trying to imagine a solution is overwhelming.

When I was young, my trainer bred an Appy mare to a Percheron. The filly came out basically a bay Percheron with spots on her butt. An odd combo I would never have thought of doing, but she sure was cute.

Forgive my ignorance... what is a Gypsy? I have been out of the loop for a while and not sure I have heard of this before. Sarah, I looked at your horse and it looks like a painted Friesian to me. LOL :S

Gypsy horses are heavier than friesians, really beefy... Some folks go for the lighter ones, but most of the people I know want thick and meaty ones. Here's the site I'd recommend for reading if you're interested in the breed: Information and Education

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.